Gifted Lady ran a good race for us at Listowel earlier this
week, but unfortunately it wasn’t good enough. She just didn’t have the pace to
get involved at the business end but she kept on well and very nearly got up
for 4th. The ground can’t be soft enough for the Mick Mulvany trained filly and
she will be back in the winner’s enclosure soon as she is well capable of
scoring off her current rating.
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| Brendan Duke has a good crop of 2yos this season. |
Saturday is St Leger day at Royal Ascot and you can find out
my fancy for the race by clicking here. The flat action on Saturday in Ireland
comes from Gowran Park and with heavy ground likely an ability to handle
testing conditions will be key. Brendan Duke has endeared himself to plenty of
racing fans with his candid interviews this season and he has been bullish
about his crop of 2yos.
The likes of Warm The Voice and The Broghie Man have shown
that he wasn’t bluffing and he has an interesting contender in the shape of
Chica Buena in the fillies’ maiden at Gowran. This daughter of Thewayyouare ran
a lovely race on debut at Down Royal (7f soft) and she stayed on very nicely in
the closing stages for 7th under a considerate ride from Killian Leonard.
She was held up in the early stages of that race and 3f out
she only had a couple behind. As the pace lifted she came off the bridle but
she kept on well under hands and heels in the final furlong and she finished just over 6L behind the
eventual winner Beach Wedding. A Jim Bolger trained horse called Vocal Music
finished two places and 3L in front of her in 5th and he has placed form off 73
in a handicap and a couple of top 4 finishes in maidens too.
Killian Leonard never went near Chica Buena with the whip at
Down Royal and I think she could have finished even closer under a more
aggressive ride. It is encouraging to see that Ronan Whelan takes over in the
saddle on Saturday and he has 2 wins and 12 top 4 finishes from 49 rides for
Brendan Duke. The step up to a mile looks sure to suit Chica Buena on the
evidence of her debut effort and her pedigree suggests it will suit too.
She is a half sister to a total of 4 winners on the level
and 3 of those scored over 10f. Her sire has a more than respectable strike
rate of 27% with his runners from 7-9f and he relished cut in the ground. His
Group 1 win came on very soft ground as a 2yo at Saint Cloud and he won a Group
3 on soft. Not many of his progeny have raced on heavy, just 25 in fact, and
only 2 have won but a further 8 have placed for a none too shabby frame hitting
strike rate of 40%.
At Gowran the draw is absolutely crucial because of the
amount of extra ground you have to cover if you are caught out wide. Chica
Buena has been handed a decent starting position in stall 3 so hopefully she breaks smartly and makes use of her draw. I don’t think she will need to
improve a huge amount to be involved at the finish here as plenty of her
opponents that have seen the track have yet to prove themselves on ground like
this. At odds of 25/1 she is worth chancing each way for small stakes.
STEVOS’ SELECTION:
14.00 GOWRAN-CHICA BUENA E/W @ 25/1
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